Deception, Research on

The Tendency to Deceive

A core area of deception research focuses on the tendencies of individuals to lie and deceive others. Questions asked in this area of research include: How often do people lie? Do some people lie more frequently than others? Are certain circumstances especially conducive to deceptive behavior?

One particularly useful method for tracking how frequently individuals lie in their everyday lives is the daily diary study. Over the course of a set number of days, participants in this type of study use either a notebook or, more recently, a smart phone application to record all of their social interactions. They also report all of the times that they intentionally lied or tried to mislead someone during these interactions and their reasons for doing so. At the end of the set time period, participants turn in their diaries, which are analyzed for the frequency and types of lies that were reported.

Results of these diary studies—for example, in research by K. B. Serota, T. R. Levine, and F. J. Boster in 2010—reveal that, on average, people tend to report intentionally deceiving others quite frequently, averaging about one lie per every four social interactions (or about one to two times per day). When participants' lying tendencies are individually analyzed, however, it is revealed that a majority of the total lies reported can be accounted for by a relatively small percentage of individuals in each sample. A similar pattern of results has been found by researchers using nationally representative surveys of self-reported lying behavior. Thus, in their everyday lives, most people do not report lying very often, but a minority of the population seems to engage quite prolifically in deceptive behavior.

In addition to tracking overall lying frequency, by coding participants' descriptions of the lies that they reported, researchers are able to determine how frequently people engage in specific types of deception. For example, the majority of the lies reported in the daily diaries are self-oriented and are thus told to promote the individual's self-interest. These include lies told to embellish personal accomplishments, make oneself seem kinder and more intelligent, and save oneself from embarrassment in social situations. However, to a much lesser extent, participants report telling other-oriented lies, usually with the intention of protecting the feelings of others.

Deception researchers frequently use survey and daily diaries in conjunction with personality assessments and other individual-difference measures to determine what types of people are more prone to lying in their everyday lives. For example, individuals who score higher on scales of manipulativeness and impression management tend to report lying more frequently in their diaries. Relationship quality is perhaps the most robust predictor of everyday lying. Participants who report being involved in satisfying and enduring relationships with others tend to record fewer lies (especially self-oriented lies) than those with less satisfying relationships.

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